


Thunderbirds Are Go/ARK Survival Evolved – ‘Island Swap’

by countessofsnark



Category: ARK: Survival Evolved, Thunderbirds
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-26
Updated: 2018-10-07
Packaged: 2019-07-02 19:43:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15803289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/countessofsnark/pseuds/countessofsnark
Summary: Virgil and Scott are suddenly whisked away to a strange, dangerous island when they interact with an ancient artifact that appeared on Tracy Island. It is now up to Gordon and Alan to find out where their siblings are… and to bring them home safely.





	1. Discovery

The strange blue light grew more and more intense as they carefully approached it, its alien glow alighting their cheeks and creating a flickering reflection in their eyes. Scott tried to reach out with a gloved hand but Virgil pulled him back. 

‘No, we don’t have the faintest clue what we’re dealing with here!’

‘But… don’t you hear that? It’s like… it’s like it’s singing to us. Maybe it’s a message, a beacon of sorts.’

‘Scott, don’t you remember that old saying about curiosity killing the cat? Well I can assure you that if you go around interacting with strange blue objects that hum and sing, curiosity is gonna end up killing more than just felines.’

Scott sighed, clearly annoyed by his brother’s spoil sporting tendencies. He wanted to know just what they were dealing with from the moment he spotted the bright pillar of light. Somehow, it had appeared out of nowhere inbetween the time they had rushed out for a rescue and their return to Tracy Island. Scott had told Virgil he had seen something on the northeastern coastline of the island that called for a closer look. Virgil didn’t trust his brother’s attraction to the unknown and had tagged along to make sure the elder Tracy didn’t get himself in a sea of trouble. Because in this family, history keeps on repeating itself, over and over again.

Virgil realized that Scott was simply going to back down until someone told him just what they were dealing with. And what with Brains having gone off to the mainland for a robot convention with MAX and Mini!MAX in tow, that left only one engineer to do the honours of investigating this alien like occurrence.

‘Fine, I’ll have a look,’ Virgil grumbled. He was shaking as he inched towards the bright pulsing light – whether it was due to the anger he felt at having allowed himself to be dragged into this or the primal fear of the unknown, he couldn’t tell – and let his hand touch the beam. It only lasted a split second but something happened alright. Within that second, Scott had latched on to his brother’s arm, and the blinding flash that exploded from inside the beacon engulfed both of them. 

Peace and quiet were restored to Tracy Island. The pulsing beacon hummed on unperturbed, the spot where both brothers had been standing was now empty. Only the faintest scorch mark betrayed their former presence.


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New survivors arrive on the Island... but they are not quite human this time around.

Eyes opened slowly, adjusting to a whole new world of sensations. Everything felt different, more raw and immediate. But the basics – breathing, hunger, heat and all that – were still as assuringly normal as before. At least there’s that.  
Scott shook his head and ruffled his… feathers? Glorious, golden-tipped feathers, strong wings and sharp talons, a beak that can kill small creatures in one hit... Scott did not quite grasp what he was but he instinctively felt that he must be somewhere near the top of the food chain. And right now, he was sitting atop a mountain overlooking a lush island that seemed to have every kind of environment under the sun: luscious sandy beaches, a snow capped mountain in the distance, and tropic swamps. Scott opened his beak and let out a majestic croaking screech. He lifted off, surprised at the grace and power that his new body possessed.   
Time to hunt, he thought, letting his instinct guide him onward. His perfect eyesight caught the tiniest rodent from high above the redwood trees, could pick out the other apex predators on land.  
A short while later he had chased a couple of gallimimus through the swamp and riverbeds and on to the the beach, where they appeared to be stuck and hesitant to enter the ocean itself. That’s when Scott swooped down, talons outstretched.   
He was about to catch his prey when he felt something whoosh through the air, hitting home as it drove its sharp point into the down covered skin below his right wing. The pain he felt was dulled by another sensation. More arrows followed, each injecting more narcotic into his body. Scott plummeted to the ground, flapping about helplessly before passing out. 

The last thing he felt before everything went black was the weird sensation of being hand fed. A warm, fuzzy blanket seemed to cover his senses and he drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

A blizzard had erupted in the snowy area of the Island. On the western edge between snow and sand, a lone direwolf woke up from its slumber. Its huge amber eyes opened slowly and blinked. Virgil shook his body and realized that he was standing on all fours. Paws, not legs. A large bushy tail that swung left to right. Strong jaws filled with sharp teeth. The memories of panic and anxiety, chasing prey and fighting off other predators and not knowing where he was or what he was supposed to be doing here. Memories that were quickly fading as the present became clearer, his senses sharpening as he settled into his new form.  
Behind him, a pack of wolves were fighting over a woolly mammoth carcass. He did not know whether they were his pack. A strange urge to wander off and be his own master crept over him, drowning out the animal instinct. He does not feel all that hungry any more so he concluded that he must have eaten – probably claimed the first parts of the mammoth – probably helped to bring it down as well.   
Virgil stretched and scratched an itch behind his right ear. He began to trot away from the pack, towards an arch of snow that looked out over the ocean. At the far end of the cliff, an iceberg could be seen, just across the narrow bits of sea ice that were floating off shore. Virgil sat down and quietly observed this strange new world. He felt at ease, having shaken off the trauma of arriving in an unknown place and an unknown body.  
Before long, his peace was disturbed by the unmistakable sound of footsteps. Before Virgil could respond to the threat, darts were being fired into his thick fur. The narcotics withing swiftly took him out, rendering his strong body useless against the oncoming shadows that surrounded him. He can feel himself becoming more relaxed, feeling grateful even as he is being fed a slab of juicy meat. And that’s when the darkness takes him in its arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Those of you who know a thing or two about ARK Survival Evolved will probably know just what has happened to Scott and Virgil. Stay tuned for the next chapter, which will be split between the Island and Tracy Island.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Island and Tracy Island meet again in the third and last chapter - where Virgil and Scott have settled into the tamed life, but their little brothers refuse to give up on the search back home.

The breeze that hugged the hilltop on the northeast side of the island gently the blue-and-gold feathered Argentavis that sat next to one of its masters. Scott had been captured and claimed a few weeks ago. His sense of independence had been replaced by security and the knowledge that he would receive food on a regular basis. Sometimes he would be taken to a hilltop while the tribe harvested precious and heavy materials. Sometimes he’d be used to craft structures, or to scout for new additions to the tribe’s animal army. 

Life was good. But something kept stirring it the back of his head. Memories of a past life. Memories that were strong and warm, comforting, unable to fade out entirely.

The same experience happened to Virgil on a regular basis. He was stationed in the same base as his bird brother. Next to him, a silver-white female wolf was housed. Although he didn’t know why, he always felt stronger and safer when she was near. When the tribe felt like going for a beach walk, they’d often ask their wolves along for company. Air support would be a pair of wyverns, true apex predators from another world. 

Day after day, they watched the sun rise and set, they’d endure rain and fog, or snow if they were to venture to the nearby snowy area. There would be dangerous encounters with creatures far stronger than them, but the tribe would never let them get to the point of death. They were good, caring, and numerous.

One day, they were to be ferried off to another world, being uploaded into a giant glowing obelisk. 

‘Don’t worry, we’ll get you out on the other side,’ the tribe had said. 

But they never came back. The real life people who played the game had given up, suddenly and irrevocably. The game kept them in stasis – but the countdown timer to deletion had begun. Inside the obelisk’s humming prison, Scott and Virgil slowly began to experience visions of their old home. The obelisk recognized the pattern and saught to contact the gateway. It tried and tried, and finally found a light to activate.

Back on Tracy Island, the search for the missing brothers had entered its third day. Gordon and Alan were exploring a section of the island they didn’t realise existed. The only reason they were drawn here had to do with a brigh purple light source that popped out of nowhere in the middle of the night. They slid into their uniforms, and without waking up the other residents, headed out to investigate.

‘It’s got an interface, so I guess we can interact with whatever this is.’ Alan said, pushing a button on the side of the spiky metal object that spread the eerie purple glow into the sky. A panel had come out, its keyboard a hologram with brightly coloured menus.

‘Are you sure this isn’t going to detonate and destroy our home?’ Gordon hissed when Alan proceeded to tap the holographic keys, making new menus appear at lightning speed. ‘This is not a game!’

‘Hush, I think I found something interesting.’ Alan pushed his brother aside and peered closer at the blinking words that had popped up.

‘Download: two creatures.’ 

‘What does that mean?’ Gordon said, looking over Alan’s shoulder.

‘I don’t know, but don’t you think that’s a mighty fine coincidence, what with the fact that we are missing two siblings?’

‘It could be any odd coincidence but…’ Gordon began. 

‘Heck I’m not waiting around, let’s see what happens!’ Alan’s impulsive traits took the upper hand as she smashed the download button, causing the metal device to emit a low rumble, making the ground around them shake.

Two bright balls of purple light shot out and circled back down to Earth. They faded out to reveal two naked shapes. Scott and Virgil opened their eyes and blinked. Standing on two feet proved to be tricky after having either possessed four paws or a pair of wings and taloned feet. 

They were back home at last, safely inside their human bodies. Yet the experience of the ARK would stay with them for many years to come. The light that kept spawning on Tracy Island would be a cautious reminder that sometimes, curiosity doesn’t kill the proverbial cat – it could turn you into one…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's that - I could have written more, but I felt like a short and sweet ending was just what I needed not to verge into repetition (as ARK itself is a lot of doing the same things, to be honest)
> 
> Back to 100% TAG fic from now on, this was a nice change to be honest!

**Author's Note:**

> A strange ARK/TAG crossover, inspired by a prompt from the very lovely Sonia - this'll be my first fic to be divided into chapters. Enjoy!


End file.
